How to Make Stock

...r it. Just skim off the fat or scum which rises to the surface, and if the water level drops so that the bones are exposed, add more water or wine. When it’s done, strain the stock through a colander or strainer, lined with cheesecloth if you want the stock to be particularly clear. When the stock cools you’ll find a layer of fat floating on the top, which you can lift off. Fish Stock Fish stock is, obviously, used as the basis of various classic...

Read…

LA ecovillage: self-reliance in a car-free urban homestead

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdQGozSavz8 Johnny, who shot that nice video of us for faircompanies.com just made another video about our friends at the LA ecovillage. It’s well worth a view. Some of the most amazing folks in Los Angeles live there. And I like that fact that’s it’s an ecovillage smack dab in the middle of my beloved hometown. Make sure to also check out Johnny’s blog Granola Shotgun....

Read…

The Original L.A. Urban Homestead

...ow full of warm dark wood. It features a small solar array, a fabulous greywater system and many other features that make this cozy home worth a visit. The most educational part of the Eco-Home, in my humble opinion, is Julia’s actual lifestyle. Sure, technical features such as solar and greywater are great, but living lightly is more about how you live and small simple choices you make everyday. Julia is in her 70’s and doesn’t drive. She bikes....

Read…

Book Review: The Urban Bestiary

...estiary is an exploration of the intimate intersection of humans and other urban animals, such as coyotes and raccoons and opossums and squirrels. In The Urban Bestiary, Haupt introduces us to our close neighbors, the animals which share our land, and sometimes even our homes. She gives us a naturalist’s overview of their behaviors, physiology and life cycles, interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with wildlife experts. The resulting...

Read…

Make a Sourdough Starter

...friends so that they can start baking immediately. You should use bottled water. We’ve done it with plain old LA tap water with no problems. Wild yeasts are in the air and you have to “catch” them. Yes, there are yeasts in the air, but there are many millions more in the damn flour. If we had to “catch” wild yeasts we’d be making bread with Los Angeles yeasts, which would likely to be too busy yakking on their cell phones in search of an agent to...

Read…